Results That Matter: Building Trust in Elections

What It Is: A research initiative from UC San Diego's Yankelovich Center, run with MIT's Election Data Science Lab and Johns Hopkins' SNF Agora Institute, testing which communication strategies actually build voter trust in elections and publishing both peer-reviewed studies and short practitioner briefs. 

Why It Matters: The research yields concrete, usable findings — 'pre-bunking' messages measurably reduce distrust of delayed results, and state-produced informational videos increase trust in that state's own election process — giving Transparency-focused communication a tested foundation rather than guesswork, directly relevant to the Legitimacy of election administration. 'Pre-bunking' refers to giving people accurate information about something before they encounter a misleading claim about it, so they're less likely to be swayed when they do.

How to Use It: Pull specific briefs (on pre-bunking messages or informational videos) to inform how your organization communicates with employees about election timelines and results.